By Kunle Solaja.
When the Nigeria Super Eagles and Tunisia Carthage Eagles file out this Saturday night for a possible table-topping encounter in Fez, Morocco, the encounter will reignite a rivalry written in walkouts, shootouts, and Milestones. It evokes memories of rivalry that define African football.
Here are some key moments from the previous 21 encounters:
· A long-standing rivalry: Nigeria and Tunisia share a deep-rooted rivalry. This fixture marks Nigeria’s 106th match in Africa Cup of Nations history and Tunisia’s 85th appearance at the tournament.
Nigeria’s Muda Lawal, on the turf, had the special task of policing Tarak Dhiab in a September 25, 1977, World Cup qualifying match.
· History of walkouts: Both teams have staged walkouts in past encounters. Nigeria walked off during an AFCON qualifier in Tunis on 10 December 1961, after a controversial equaliser by Tunisia, with CAF awarding the match to Tunisia. Tunisia, in turn, walked off during the 1978 AFCON third-place match in Kumasi after Baba Otu Mohammed scored Nigeria’s equaliser; CAF awarded the match to Nigeria.
· Seventh AFCON meeting: This will be the seventh Africa Cup of Nations meeting between the two sides, following clashes in 1978 (Kumasi), 2000 (Lagos), 2004 (Radès), 2006 (Port Said), 2019 (Cairo) and 2022 (Garoua).
· AFCON record favours Nigeria: In their six previous AFCON meetings, results have largely favoured Nigeria, except for Tunisia’s penalty shoot-out win in the 2004 semi-final and the Round of 16 victory at the 2021 AFCON (played in 2022).
· Blocked Nigeria’s AFCON debut: Tunisia denied Nigeria qualification for what would have been the Super Eagles’ maiden AFCON appearance in 1962.
· First major competitive dispute: Tunisia became the first country Nigeria had a major competitive altercation with, following Nigeria’s walkout in the 1961 AFCON qualifier in Tunis. Nigeria had won the first leg 2–1 in Lagos and were leading 4–3 on aggregate when they protested what they considered biased officiating by Egyptian referee Mohammed Hassan Helim.
· A historic milestone goal: Nigeria scored their 100th AFCON goal in a match against Tunisia at the 2006 tournament, courtesy of a sixth-minute strike by Obinna Nsofor.
· Kanu’s unique AFCON record: African football legend Nwankwo Kanu played 27 AFCON matches across six tournaments without scoring from open play. His only goal contribution came via a penalty in the 2006 shoot-out against Tunisia, where he was Nigeria’s reluctant eighth and final taker.
· Okocha’s historic strike: Nigeria’s Jay-Jay Okocha scored the 1,000th goal in Africa Cup of Nations history on Tunisian soil.
Augustine Jay-Jay Okocha (R) scores the thousandth goal of the AFCON against South Africa in the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations played in Tunisia
· Infamous own goal: It was not the first own goal, nor was it the last, yet Godwin Odiye’s notorious own goal, which is the most talked about in Nigeria, came in a World Cup qualifier against Tunisia in Lagos on 12 November 1977, a match Tunisia won.
Godwin Odiye, with a flying header, deflects the ball into Nigeria’s net in a 1978 World Cup qualifying duel with Tunisia in Lagos.
· Nigeria’s first shoot-out: Nigeria’s national team experienced their first-ever penalty shoot-out in a World Cup qualifier against Tunisia on 26 June 1980, after a 2–2 aggregate scoreline. Nigeria won the shoot-out 4–3.
· A Tunisian referee factor: The referee who officiated Nigeria’s penalty shoot-out loss to Cameroon in a later competition was Tunisian official Mourad Daami.
· Penalty shoot-out history: Nigeria have featured in seven AFCON penalty shoot-outs, two of them against Tunisia. The honours are even: Tunisia won in 2004, Nigeria triumphed in 2006.
· Tunisia’s shoot-out record: Tunisia have participated in six AFCON penalty shoot-outs, winning four — against Gabon (1996), Burkina Faso (1998), Nigeria (2004) and Ghana (2019) — and losing twice, to South Africa (2000) and Nigeria (2006).
· A first missed penalty: When Kadiri Ikhana missed his spot-kick in the 1980 shoot-out against Tunisia, he became Nigeria’s first national team player to miss a penalty in such circumstances.
· Three shoot-outs with Tunisia: Of Nigeria’s 11 penalty shoot-outs in all competitions, three have been against Tunisia — in 1980, 2004 and 2006. Only the 2004 Radès encounter ended in Tunisia’s favour.
· End of an era: Nigeria’s 1977 World Cup qualifier against Tunisia marked the final international appearances of defenders Patrick Ekeji and Samuel Ojebode.
Samuel Ojebode and Patrick Ekeji put their hands on their heads as Odiye’s header put the ball into Nigeria’s net in a match that was the last for the duo in the national team.
· World Cup curse: Until the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Nigeria failed to qualify for every World Cup in which Tunisia featured in their qualifying path — including Argentina ’78, Spain ’82 and Mexico ’86.
· Heavy defeats: Aside from the 7–0 loss to Gold Coast (Ghana) in 1955, Nigeria’s next heaviest defeat was a 5–0 friendly loss to Tunisia on 29 September 1984.
· Coaching baptism of fire: Former Nigeria coach Chris Udemezue began his tenure with a 5–0 defeat to Tunisia in that 1984 friendly, following the temporary withdrawal of Adegboye Onigbinde to assist Shooting Stars’ continental campaign.
· The symbolism of six: The number six played a recurring role in Nigeria’s dramatic qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup at Tunisia’s expense — from shirt numbers and match minutes to group composition, number of matches played, and the late goals conceded by Tunisia that ultimately handed Nigeria the ticket to South Africa 2010.
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